Dialogue tlie Eleventh
   Between a Lawyer and a Client
   ARGUMENT Consultation in reference to a law-suit
   C.  How do you do, Mr. Shenk, am I too early ?
   L.  Not at all, not at all, Mr. Cliff, sharp in time, to be sure. You must excuse me for appointing this late hour for our interview, but, what with one thing and another, I am so busy the whole day long, that I can hardly spare some decent length of time to hear a client at leisure.
   0.  On the contrary, you could not choose a fitter time, I being also taken up with business during office hours.
   L.  So much the better then Take a seat, please, and acquaint me with your case.
   0.  Here is how matters stand. About three months ago I entered negotiations with one Mr. Smith, a Commission Merchant of our
   place, for the purchase of a parcel of one hundred hogsheads (i) of olive oil from a french firm of Tunis, to be delivered in two lots of fifty hogsheads each within sixty days.
   The price and all other conditions were agreed upon between myself ad Mr. Smith, subject however to the approval of his principal, to be given within six days from the date of the sale.
   Some weeks after, when prices had abated about ten per cent, mind you (2), a shipment of fifty hogsheads from the same house reached our port, consigned (3) to Mr. Smith, who pretended I should take it as a part of my purchase; which however I refused to do, on the ground that, having received no notice of the vendor's approval within the term fixed, I held the sale as actually cancelled (4). Thereupon I received a letter from the Tunis firm, claiming that I was bound not only to accept and pay for the parcel shipped, which, they intim-
   (1) Hogshead  Grosso barile o botte usato in Inghilterra e Colonie  Varia nella misura secondo l'uso cui è destinato.
   (2) Mind you « tenete a mente » è espressione intercalare comunissim.1 della lingua parlata, che però nulla toglie od aggiunge al senso del discorso.
   (3) L'atto materiale del consegnare una cosa è espresso in inglese dal verbo « to Deliverj», mentre il verbo » to Consign » significa invece « dare in consegna, affidare »  Nel linguaggio commerciale italiano dicesi però usualmente « consegnare ».
   (4) To cancel è termine tecnico per « annullare », quando si tratti di atto, contratto e simili.